ABC Kids

Investing in the lives of the impoverished and needy children of Rwanda
and to facilitate a spiritual and holistic transformation of their lives and families.

December Update

Dear Friends, partners, and co-workers in Christ,

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Grace to you and peace from our father and the Lord Jesus Christ, “Philippians 1:2”

On behalf of the ABC Kids program’s staff and the entire leadership of Christ Gospel Fellowship Church of Rwanda, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to all of you friends who have always sacrificed your time in prayer and also your finances to support the ministry; God bless you so much.

As we come to the Christmas season celebrations and end of 2018, we thank God because He has always been faithful to us all throughout the year. We have received God’s provision in all situations and our hearts are rejoicing in Him as a body of Christ (Christ Gospel Fellowship Church of Rwanda) and as ABC Kids program in particular.

Sharing the Love of God: The Love of God is shared through His Word and in actions as well; we visited various homes and places among which was CGFCR Ryandinzi where we had a meeting with kids in the ABC Kids program and their parents. We had great moments of fellowship together after which some food items were distributed to families; this was towards the end of November.

Kids’ progress: We are so thankful to God that the school academic year has ended successfully. All our kids were able to do their exams at different levels and are now in their holidays helping parents and guardians in their families. Some of them scored high marks and others have not, however we encourage the slow learners to put more effort as we also pray for them. We had our Saturday meeting and this time kids came with parents and we prayed together; dedicating our children to God and praying for His guidance over them during the holidays.

Christmas Celebrations:

As it has always been we had two Christmas parties based on our kids’ locations. On December 13th we had a Christmas party at Christ Gospel Church in Musanze and on December 14th we had another one at Christ Gospel Church in Kigali.

In Musanze, we had a rainy day and all the activities were held inside the Church. The day was opened with a prayer by Pastor Innocent from the host church and a word of God by Pastor Juvenal from Christ Gospel Church Gatonde. We also had the privilege to be with the local government leader at the sector level on the occasion and he appreciated church input in rising up future bright citizens, well equipped both spiritually and physically. After speeches, we had lunch together with kids and then distributed the Christmas gifts. It was great and all the faces were smiling. The Joy of the Lord filled our hearts.

Below are some pictures of the day in Musanze

We had a similar day in Kigali on December 14th also where all the program kids gathered together at Christ Gospel Church Kimironko. Pastor Etienne opened the event with a prayer and a word of God about the birth of our Lord Jesus. Children had time to pray in small groups and gave their testimonies and thanksgivings after.

We shared lunch with kids and the sky was getting dark that the event continued in the kids’ church where other speeches continued. We had also invited the local government leader at the sector level to share the day with. In her speech she was also thankful to the Lord and to the church for joining hands with the government to shape the future generation. She also encouraged the kids to make good use of the privilege they have, avoiding drugs and growing in obedience to God and leaders/parents because they are the future leaders and parents of the nation. She opened the event distributing the Christmas gifts together with Pastor Etienne.

Below are some pictures of Christmas day at Christ Gospel Church at Kimironko.

After the word of God by Pastor Etienne, children had time to pray for each other in small groups, gave individual testimonies and also shared what they had learned.

After the word of God we had lunch together as seen from the pictures below and then gifts were distributed.

A word of appreciation: This is always one of the most joyful moments we have with kids! You know gifts bring an extra joy in the heart; with kids at times they cannot express but their faces and actions can reveal their joy. You see the last picture where some kids can’t wait to get home and decide to lay on their mattresses on the church compound! So we don’t want to take it for granted that there must be such great days every year but we see the Grace of God and really extend our sincere appreciations to all of you who work tirelessly to the make it the events successful.

May the Lord bless you and fill your hearts and those of your beloved ones with Christmas Joy. We can’t equally give back but we pray that God grants you all the heavenly blessings now and forever.

We Love you and God bless you,
Uwamariya Jacqueline
ABC Kids Program Manager

2018 Rwanda Trip

Youth Camp

Vacation Bible School

This year's Youth Camp was an incredible time with the older ABC Kids. We stayed at a boarding school campus in Gahini, a small town in the Eastern Province just above Lake Muhazi. The focus was on surrendering to God, with several lessons, crafts, and free time. On the last day, we walked down to Lake Muhazi where four boys were baptized.

A Day with ABC Kids and Home Visits

In addition to spending a day distributing gifts and hanging out with the ABC Kids, we were also able to visit some of the kids at their homes.

For the younger ABC Kids, we hosted a Vacation Bible School in the Central Province and one in the Northern Province. This was an engaging and unforgettable experience as we shared the Gospel, let the kids explore their creative side with a variety of crafts, and had a blast with bubbles and other games.

VBS in the Northern Province

Christmas 2017 Celebrations

We had two Christmas parties; On 19th December, we were at Ruhengeri where all kids had gathered at Ryandinzi Christ Gospel Church. We shared a word of God by Jacqueline, from the book of Ephesians 6:1-2 where kids were reminded to respect their parents in our Lord Jesus Christ. And on 20th December we had another one at Christ Gospel Church Kimironko and it was all successful. Children gave their thanks giving testimonies, we heard a word of God from Pastor Etienne and then we shared lunch and then all kids received their gifts.

Thank you for sharing your generosity and love with the ABC Kids in Rwanda. Christmas 2017 was another festive and wonderful time for these kids.

The sponsored kids received a set of new clothes while all of the kids who are waiting for sponsors received a new backpack for the upcoming school year.

All of the kids enjoyed a huge feast and a Christmas party to celebrate the birth of Christ and enjoy a good time together.

The staff in Rwanda hosted two separate events. One in the Northern Province (Ryandinzi) and one in the Central Province (Kimironko).

Please see the photos below.

Christmas for the ABC Kids in the Northern Province

Christmas for the ABC Kids in the Central Province

Meet Esther Mutoni

Esther Mutoni is 14 years old and is the middle child between two brothers. Esther's mother is a genocide survivor. She has no steady job but is able to get some work from time to time to support her kids. It however is not enough to provide for all their needs. As a genocide survivor, the government provides housing. Their father is not around.

Esther is in Senior 3 at a school nearby. She has not been able to pay her school fees so the school will not release her progress reports or exam results until she is able to pay off the debt she owes. When her mother gets some money from the small jobs, she sends Esther to the school to apply the money to the outstanding balance.

Esther loves biology and wants to become a pediatrician. She is in the choir at school and her favorite thing to do in her free time is pray and sing. At home, she helps with the dishes and tries to help with cooking. Her favorite food is rice with meat.

Esther, her mother, and younger brother are very dedicated to attending church and praying. All three will take a week to fast and pray, which is rare to find children willingly fasting for a whole week. But their faith is strong and the joy of the Lord is evident in their huge smiles. Esther's favorite scripture is John 3:16.

Please pray for this young girl and her family.

If you'd like to sponsor Esther, please click on the link below.

Sponsor Esther

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ABC Kids is a child sponsorship program that aims to meet the basic needs of the impoverished and needy children of Rwanda as well as help develop their spiritual growth. The program currently supports almost 300 children, either orphaned or living in extreme poverty by providing for school fees and supplies, medical care, other basic needs, and discipleship.

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